


You're Female, Right?

by CuriousThimble



Series: Birds of A Feather [5]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Awkward Alistair (Dragon Age), Dragon age Romance Advice, F/M, Falling In Love, Friendship/Love, Relationship Advice, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-05-13 15:40:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19254163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CuriousThimble/pseuds/CuriousThimble
Summary: Alistair needs some advice, so he turns to the one person who might be able to help him.





	You're Female, Right?

“Hey, Tabris.”

 

Tabris looks up at Alistair as he jogs to her side. “Hey Alistair,” she says in the same questioning tone. Handing him an armload of wood, she goes back to gathering sticks. “Come to help?”

 

Looking down at the sticks in his arms, he shrugs. “I...uh...guess.”

 

“Good, it’s getting kind of cold at night, don’t you think?”

 

He grunts in answer, letting her pile more and more on him.  _ Something’s on his mind, _ she thinks, noting how he keeps shuffling his feet and looking at the ground.  _ He’ll tell me when he’s ready, I guess. _

 

“So...um…”

 

Looking up, she raises her brows. “Yes?”

 

Grimacing, he shakes his head. “Nothing. It’s nothing.”

 

Giving him a confused look, she shrugs. “You shem are confusing sometimes, you know that?”

 

“Why do you call me a shem?”

 

“Because it’s what you are,” she laughs. “I don’t mean anything by it, it’s just...how it is.”

 

“You don’t call any of the others shems,” he points out, grunting when she lays a thick branch in his arms.

 

“I don’t like them as much as you,” she says, reaching up to pinch his cheek.

 

He blushes under her teasing. “So…” he mumbles.

 

“So…?” 

 

“Damn,” he mutters, shoving the firewood back into her arms. By now there’s so much she can’t hold it all, and she falls back on her ass as it scatters around her. “Maker’s breath! I’m sorry!”

 

She stares up at him open-mouthed before bursting into laughter. “Alistar, what has gotten into you? You’re as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs!”

 

“So you’re female, right?” he blurts out.

 

Tabris laughs harder, but his answering glare makes her catch her breath. “Are you-” she giggles, “-just noticing?”

 

“I hate you,” he says, dodging the stick she throws at him. “Hey, no! I bruise easy!”

 

“What do you want?” she laughs. “You didn’t come out here to ask me if I’m  _ female. _ ”

 

He turns bright red and rubs the back of his neck. “I just wanted some advice,” he admits.

 

“On?” she coaches, pulling her knees to her chest and watching him pace. 

 

“What- What should I do if… I mean, I think-” He takes a deep breath and dives right into the problem. “What should I do if I think a woman is special and-”

 

“Well first I would suggest not asking her if she’s female,” Tabris snorts. “That should be pretty obvious.” Her eyes glitter with mischief and she toys with a stick. “Is it Morrigan?”

 

“Morrigan?” he shrieks, whirling around to stare at her slack-jawed. “ _ Morrigan? _ No! I just- oh Maker, the thought makes me sick,” he groans.

 

She laughs at him again. “I know, I know. She’s an awful, hateful bitch and you can’t stand her. But I had to ask.”

 

“No, you- you horrible person.” His voice lowers and he shuffles his feet. “It’s Leliana.”

 

“I know,” she says lightly.

 

“You know?” He pales and looks a little sick before sitting in front of her and groaning. “Everyone knows.”

 

“Yep. Alistair, we all thought you two had slept together by now.”

 

He covers his face with his hands and lets out a deep breath. “No. I...I’ve never done  _ that _ before.”

 

_ Oh. He’s a virgin. _ It hasn’t been so long since she first slept with Zevran that she’s forgotten how that feels.  _ I might now have been a virgin with him, but in a way, it was the same. I have to help him if I can. _ “Are you afraid that things won’t proceed naturally?” she asks.

 

He looks at her as if she’s the dumbest person on the planet. “Why would they?” he asks dryly. “Especially when I do things like ask women if they’re female.”

 

“It adds to your charm, shem,” she tells him. “You’re pretty awkward. In humans, it’s kind of endearing.”

 

He gives her a confused look, like a puppy who’s just been told to sit once he was told to stand up. “So I should be  _ more _ awkward? Didn’t you just say not to do things like that?”

 

“Just be yourself,” Tabris laughs.

 

He flops back with a grunt. “Just forget I asked.”

 

She climbs to her feet, nudging him with her boot. “Come on. Let’s get this firewood to camp before your lady love gets cold.”

 

“Oh, you’re going to tease me now? Just kill me, why don’t you?” he asks, taking her hand and letting her drag him to his feet.

 

“It could be worse,” she warns as they gather the dropped wood. “I could tell Morrigan.”

 

“You wouldn’t!” he gasps.

 

She gives him a wicked grin and pushes her braids over her shoulder. “Wouldn’t I? Imagine what she could do with that kind of information.”

 

“Where’s an archdemon when I need one?” he asks, looking up at the sky.

 

They walk back to the camp in companionable silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts.  _ I hope something grows between them, _ she thinks, glancing up at him.  _ All that chiseled...manliness...would be appreciated by someone like Lel. And she could use some kindness, I think. They aren’t like Zevran and me; they deserve some happiness. _

  
“Hey Alistair,” she says, stopping him just outside of camp.

 

“Yes?”

 

She gives him a sad smile. “Just be yourself, all right? If she likes you, she likes  _ you _ , awkward and all.”

 

His eyes move from her to the pretty red-head struggling with her tent. “Thanks, Kalli.”

 

“Now go help her with her tent, you dolt.”

**Author's Note:**

> As you can see, I repurposed Leliana's conversation with Alistair for this, and I actually adore how it came out. I think it really builds Tabris' relationship with Alistair and cements the bond of the Grey Wardens.


End file.
